Tenterfield, New South Wales
| latd =29 |latm =02 |lats =55 | longd =152 |longm =01 |longs =04 | pushpin_label_position = left | map_alt = | pop = 4,066 | pop_year = | pop_footnotes = | poprank = | density = | density_footnotes = | established = 1851 | established_footnotes = | abolished = | gazetted = | postcode = 2372 | elevation = 850 | elevation_footnotes = | area = | area_footnotes = | timezone = | utc = | timezone-dst = | utc-dst = | dist1 = 699 | dir1 = N | location1 = Sydney | dist2 = 275 | dir2 = SW | location2 = Brisbane | dist3 = 128 | dir3 = W | location3 = Casino | dist4 = 117 | dir4 = S | location4 = Warwick (Qld) | dist5 = 56 | dir5 = S | location5 = Stanthorpe (Qld) | lga = Tenterfield Shire | region = | county = Clive | stategov = Lismore | fedgov = New England | url = | maxtemp = 21.4 | maxtemp_footnotes = | mintemp = 8.0 | mintemp_footnotes = | rainfall = 852.4 | rainfall_footnotes = | near-n = | near-ne = | near-e = | near-se = | near-s = | near-sw = | near-w = | near-nw = | near = | footnotes = }} Tenterfield is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the New England region at the intersection of the New England Highway and the Bruxner Highway. Tenterfield is a three-hour drive from Brisbane, Queensland, three hours from Byron Bay, New South Wales, two hours from Armidale, New South Wales and eight hours from Sydney. The town is on the north-western part of the Northern Tableland plateau, nestled in a valley, astride the Great Dividing Range and beneath the imposing Mount MacKenzie (1,287m elevation), one of the highest points along the Northern Tablelands. At the , Tenterfield had a population of approximately 4,000. Tenterfield's proximity to many regional centres and its position on the route between Sydney and Brisbane led to its development as a centre for the promotion of the federation of the Australian colonies. History Tenterfield's first inhabitants were the Jukembal people who travelled the area from near Glen Innes to Stanthorpe, Queensland. In 1841, Sir Stuart Donaldson was running 18,000 sheep on a property that he named Tenterfield Station, after a family home in Scotland. Donaldson was the first premier of NSW and made biannual trips to Tenterfield to inspect his holdings there, which covered of unfenced land. Tenterfield Post Office opened on 1 January 1849 and the township was gazetted in 1851 with allotments being sold in 1854. In 1858 gold was discovered at Drake (Fairfield) and shortly afterwards at Timbarra and Boonoo Boonoo.Halliday, Ken, Call of the Highlands, Southern Cross Printery, Toowoomba, 1988. During 1859 an AJS Bank opened and an Anglican church was built the following year. In the 1860s the Tenterfield Chronicle was published, the district court was established; the building of a hospital commenced and a public school was opened. In 1870 the population was less than 900, but the town had five hotels, a school of arts and three churches. The existing Tenterfield Post Office was constructed in 1881. During World War II, Tenterfield was earmarked as a key battleground if the Japanese should invade Australia. During 1942 thousands of soldiers were set up in emergency camps, unbeknown to the locals, to cope with such an event. Overgrown tank traps and gun emplacements can still be seen on the Travelling Stock Route near the New England Highway.Reader's Digest Guide to Australian Places, Reader's Digest, Sydney. The highway was until the early 1950s the only all-weather road from Sydney to Brisbane. Railway The railway opened to Tenterfield on 28 October 1884New England Regional Tourist Zone Association, New England Holiday, Express Print Armidale. and in 1886 to nearby Wallangarra on the Queensland border, connecting Sydney and Brisbane, with a break-of-gauge at Wallangarra. When the rail link to the Queensland border was completed, Sydney and Brisbane were linked by rail for the first time. The railway was subsequently bypassed by the fully standard gauge North Coast line between Sydney and Brisbane, completed in 1932. The Main North line is now closed north of Armidale and the Tenterfield railway station is now a museum. Break of Gauge There was considerable debate about whether the break of gauge should take place at the existing town of Tenterfield, or at a whole new town at the border at Wallangarra. Federation Speech Sir Henry Parkes delivered his Federation Speech in the Tenterfield School of Arts on 24 October 1889. He was travelling from Brisbane to Sydney, via the new Main North railway. The speech is credited with re-igniting the debate that ultimately led to Federation on 1 January 1901. Heritage listings Tenterfield has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Railway Avenue: Tenterfield railway station * Manners Street: Tenterfield School of Arts * 225 Rouse Street: Tenterfield Post Office The following buildings and sites are listed on the now defunct Register of the National Estate:The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, pp.2, 246-247. * Ayrdrie, Casino Road, country house built * Tenterfield Post Office, built 1881 * Court House, Gaol and Police Buildings, Molesworth Street, 1874–1882 * Tenterfield School of Arts, 203 Rouse Street, 1876 * Bald Rock National Park, north of Tenterfield * Tooloom Falls Area, south-west of Urbenville * Wellington Rock Aboriginal Site, Tenterfield area * 84 Bulwer Street, believed to be one of the oldest houses in the township, used as a hospital for several years * Aldershot cottage, built 1860's Another notable landmark of Tenterfield is Flanagan's Men's Shop, which is believed to be the oldest running men's wear shop in all of Australia. Industries The main industries in the Tenterfield district are beef cattle breeding and superfine wool production through the breeding of Merino sheep. There are ten state forests in the Tenterfield district covering . Media The only commercial radio stations serving Tenterfield are Rebel Media stations, Rebel FM and The Breeze which broadcast into the area from Queensland on local FM transmitters. Tenterfield-based community radio station Ten FM provides a more local focus, derived in part from the stringent rules controlling community radio stations. The station also broadcasts to Stanthorpe north of the border, on a separate frequency. ABC New England North West and ABC Radio National broadcast to Tenterfield on local FM repeaters. 100.9 Triple Z FM, based in Goonellabah NSW runs radio advertisements for services that run from the coast to as far inland as Tenterfield and Glen Innes, and can be tuned into from higher elevations in Tenterfield when windy and anywhere in town on windless days. Tenterfield's local newspaper is The Tenterfield Star, which is a weekly newspaper issued each Wednesday. The newspaper has been published for more than 170 years and was once owned by J. F. Thomas, the solicitor who defended Breaker Morant. Tenterfield is incorporated into the Lismore television licence area and as such receives regional news bulletins on Prime7 and NBN Television along with brief local news updates on Southern Cross Ten. Local geography The local geography is dominated by prominent granite inselbergs and mountains, the most famous being that of Bald Rock, which sits within the Bald Rock National Park, and Bluff Rock which is located 12 minutes drive south of Tenterfield on the New England Highway. Climate Tenterfield has a subtropical highland climate, with cold, frosty winters and moderately hot, wet summers. It sits at an altitude of above sea level, meaning temperatures below freezing in winter are common, and Tenterfield averages 47 days where the minimum temperature drops below 0 °C each year. The town receives light to moderate snowfalls during severe winters, but this only occurs once every 20–30 years, but the town usually experiences occasional sleet most winters. The nearby Mount MacKenzie (1,287m elevation) receives snowfall annually. The town's last snowfall occurred during the harsh winter of 2015. Summers are moderately hot, and the majority of precipitation occurs as thunderstorms, which can be severe. Tenterfield's highest recorded temperature was 39.9 °C, which was recorded on 12 February 2017. Its coldest recorded temperature was -10.6 °C, which was recorded on 10 July 2006. |date=March 2017}} Notable residents .]] * Peter Allen, an entertainer who was born in and spent much of his childhood in Tenterfield, where he lived with his grandfather George Woolnough * Bronwyn Bancroft, an indigenous Australian artist * William Blakely, born in Tenterfield in 1875, a botanist and plant collector * Cathy Braid, international fashion designer * Sir Harry Chauvel, born at nearby Tabulam, the first Australian to command a military Corps * William Folster, politician * Robert Guy Howarth, born in Tenterfield in 1906, scholar, literary critic and poet * Billy Moore, NRL footballer * A.B. "Banjo" Paterson * Jenny Saville, professional golfer * Gary Shearston (1939–2013), singer and songwriter * Charlie Tapscott, 2 x paralympian silver medalist * Major J.F. Thomas, a solicitor known for his vigorous defence of Harry "Breaker" Morant, and once owned and operated the Tenterfield Star newspaper. Jack Thompson portrayed Thomas in the 1980 film Breaker Morant * George Woolnough, Allen's grandfather, a saddler, the third person to own the saddlery and the subject of Allen's song "Tenterfield Saddler" * Oliver Woodward, decorated First World War veteran and metallurgist Sporting records * The first campdraft ever held (to rules) was held in Tenterfield in c.1885.Tenterfield & District, Tenterfield & District Visitors Assoc., n.d. * The Australian showjumping record was broken at Tenterfield in 1926 Mrs A. A. Laidlaw's "Lookout", ridden by A. McPhee jumped 7’10¼". * The world showjumping record was broken at Tenterfield in 1936 by C. H. Perry's "Lookout", ridden by W Marton when he jumped 8’3½". * Guinness World Record achieved by then local Police Sergeant Troy Grant at the Tenterfield Golf Club in 2004 for the most holes of golf completed in 7 days. See also *High Conservation Value Old Growth forest References Further reading * External links * Local government site * Tenterfield Business & Tourism Gateway * Tenterfield Accommodation Directory Category:Towns in New South Wales Category:Towns in New England (New South Wales) Category:1851 establishments in Australia